


Lena Plans, God Laughs

by althus



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-29 02:15:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14462808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/althus/pseuds/althus
Summary: Soulmate AU: The first words Lena's soulmate will say to her are tattooed above her heart: "I was rooting for your character to survive in Jurassic World."





	Lena Plans, God Laughs

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my beta, AerinAced, for looking this over.

The first words Lena's soulmate will say to her are tattooed above her heart: "I was rooting for your character to survive in Jurassic World." The title to the franchise's fourth movie was unknown at the time of her birth, but her parents understood it as a reference to the Michael Crichton novel and later film adaptation by Steven Spielberg. Lionel took over a decade to come to terms with the implication that his daughter would abandon Luthor Corp to pursue an _acting_ career.

By the time Lena was packing for boarding school, however, he had decided that if she was destined to become a creative type, she should at least strive for respected thespian rather than dilettante living off her trust fund. Similar to how he approached most problems, he wrote a multimillion-dollar check to spruce up her school's arts program. Lena accepted the pronouncement with a nod and a "Thank you," waiting until she returned to her bedroom to scream into the pillow.

Later in life, Lena would rename Luthor Corp to L Corp in a bid to escape from the legacy that hung around her neck like an albatross. When she was younger, she was cognizant of the privilege afforded to a Luthor and anxious her adoptive family would snatch the luxuries away if she disappointed them. She shifted in her seat when the house staff brought out dinner and hesitated when Lionel handed her his Amex "Black Card" to buy anything she wanted for Christmas. In deference to Lionel's tuition payments and donation, Lena walked up to the school bulletin board to jot down information about auditions for a Fall production of _H.M.S. Pinafore_.

She had no memory of how her actual tryout went. She only remembered the distinct urge to upchuck her cafeteria lunch as she waited for her name to be called and wringing the script in her hands until the paper became illegible. The drama teacher assigned Lena a part in the chorus anyways because it was hard to turn her away when the show would premier in the newly remodeled Lionel and Lillian Luthor Theater.

Lena arrived early for the initial practice at the campus dance studio. She found a corner where she could sit alone and observe the other students. Some had splayed out on the hardwood floor using their backpacks as headrests while they marked up their scripts with highlighter and pen in hand. One group stood in a circle as they clapped, snapped their fingers, and called out word phrases in a rhythm game which didn't appear to Lena to have anything to do with the _H.M.S. Pinafore_. Others just seemed to be catching up with their friends at the start of a new semester. Someone approached Lena to thank her for Lionel's generosity, which left her cheeks burning red and her lanky fourteen-year-old body curling up into itself. 

The socializing died down as the drama club president walked through the door and counted off heads as he circled the room. He yelled, "Huggy Bear five!" The upperclassmen shouted and laughed as they scattered throughout the room while the freshmen looked on in bewilderment. Then a junior grabbed Lena's hand and pulled her into a group hug with four other people.

The performers now sorted into equal sized groups, the president launched into an explanation of another bonding exercise. Each team would take turns singing lyrics from any song containing the word, "Love." Repeating a previous choice or mentally blanking led to elimination until one group was left standing. Her team huddled together to brainstorm, but Lena didn't recognize half the titles they suggested, so she lip synced along as best she could. Only after all the icebreakers did they break off to practice for the comic opera.

Lena threw herself into memorizing lines with the tenacity she showed in her classes as she expected Lionel and Lex to be seated in the auditorium on opening night. She never could dismantle her wall of self-consciousness and give herself over to the make believe though, so she found ways to rebel against her prophesied path. When she was supposed to be sewing costumes, she sneaked off to hang out with the Chemistry club as they prepared for the Science Olympiad. She must have been the only resident in the dorm to have a Wall Street Journal subscription, which she read over breakfast before class. She clipped out interesting articles to pin to the corkboard above her desk. Once a quarter, Lena feigned sick in the morning so that she could dial in and listen to the Luthor Corp earnings call before the stock markets opened.

At the end of her sophomore year and on the cusp of a second potential summer at theater camp, Lena phoned home to ask about internships within Luthor Corp's engineering department. She was tired of digging her fingernails into her palms whenever Lionel pushed her to pursue more substantial parts despite her lack of talent. Lionel counseled against dallying in hobbies if life had already ordained a conclusion, but he indulged her request. Lena still had to submit a (theater background laced) resume and schedule a phone interview, but a manager turning down that surname would be committing career suicide.

She was stashed on a team with the capacity to baby-sit a high school intern and which also wasn't looking to fill any full-time slots, as it would be six plus years before Lena graduated college. By her second week on the job, her talents had prompted the manager to extend an offer to return for an internship the following summer. By the end of the program, other groups within the department had heard about the prodigy and scrambled to poach Lena away. From then on, Lena ignored the future her soulmate's comment hinted at and retired from acting for good. She didn't even find time to go to the movies.

After the third film's 2003 release, the series languished for a decade. Pre-production rumors for a fourth entry popped up every so often, but Lena punted them to the back of her mind as she focused on her Luthor Corp projects and climbing the corporate ladder. On one autumn morning in 2013, however, Lena's Google Alerts confirmed the continuation would be named "Jurassic World." Lena called Jess into her office and instructed her assistant to compile a weekly memo starting first thing Friday morning summarizing any press releases or trade publication articles related to the film.

As the casting choices became public, Lena found herself in a philosophical quandary over the nature of free will. Should she actually _audition_ for a role, maybe even as an extra? On the million to one chance they selected her, she would have to drop everything to fly out to Hawaii for the filming. Not going might jeopardize her chance to find her soulmate. After downing a double scotch in the middle of the workday, she shut off her Google Alerts and told Jess she could stop with the memos. Lena wasn't going to let the universe second guess her choice to work at Luthor Corp.

She did put a reminder on her calendar to snag tickets to the world premiere. As June 2015 rolled around, she commissioned her personal shopper to pick out a red carpet worthy dress and flew out her make-up artist and hair stylist with her to Paris for the showing. When Bryce Dallas Howard's assistant appeared on the silver screen, Lena muttered a "Huh," to herself as the puzzle pieces clicked into place. Between the fair skin and the raven hair, Lena admitted the two of them shared more than a passing resemblance. She wondered if the actress was in the theater at the moment. When the aquatic dinosaur devoured her doppelganger, Lena felt as if her body had been holding onto a spoiler for the past quarter century.

Returning back to the States, she would occasionally get stopped in the streets or in restaurants with a "Do I know you from somewhere?" or a request for a selfie. She continued to wait to hear those exact words that stared back at her every morning from the bathroom mirror.

Then Lex fell, and fate mocked her decision to forgo acting and stick with the family legacy as she inherited her brother's mess. The relocation to National City and the efforts to resuscitate the company pushed out thoughts of finding her soulmate. In trying to disentangle L Corp from images of Metropolis in flames, she had created another opening for life to unleash a surprise on her.

Lena was staring at her phone with Jess by her side as they stepped into an elevator at city hall. A blonde woman dressed in a sky-blue button-up and burgundy slacks squeezed in past the closing doors. Lena allowed herself a quick look up and down before returning to her emails.

"I was rooting for your character to survive in Jurassic World."

The statement nearly toppled the phone from Lena’s hand. Jess drew in a sharp intake of breath as Lena had shared with her the whole rationale behind her interest in the film franchise. Lena stared at the other woman as she simultaneously attempted to memorize every detail of the visage and grasp for a response. On the possibility that her soulmate would speak first, Lena had maintained a spreadsheet with an array of possible reactions. "You have me mistaken for someone else" would have left most people a nervous wreck as each time they saw an acquaintance, they would have to consider if it was instead a stranger and their soulmate. "Thanks" and the corresponding lifetime of false hopes was much too cruel. No, Lena had to say something both unique and benign.

"I lobbied them to find a way to bring me back for the sequel, but no luck."

The blonde chuckled, but her eyes failed to light up in recognition. Lena dismissed the thought that the other woman had somehow forgotten her tattooed words as Lena's phrase had been seared into the inside of her skull. She wondered if her soulmate was someone else, and by some sick twist, she was destined to hear those words again in her lifetime. As Lena ruminated, the woman exited the elevator and said, "It was nice running into you."

Lena stuck her hand to block the closing doors and followed after her leaving Jess behind in a state of confusion. Lena called out, "You said my words. Did I say yours?"

Blue eyes widened in panic behind their glasses. "I said your words," the woman repeated. "You mean _those_ words. I don't know what to tell you, but I was born without a phrase on my skin."

Lena placed a hand against her temple as she felt the room spinning. It would be just her luck to have an unrequited soulmate.

"I really have to run to this interview or my boss will have my head, but let's chat in half an hour on the second-floor cafeteria?" the blonde suggested.

Lena stared at the press badge hanging from her neck. It would also be just Lena's luck to reveal her most intimate secret to a journalist. Lena nodded, and the reporter gave her one last look before heading off.

Jess had gotten off on the next floor and raced down the stairs in her heels to catch up with Lena, who told her to reschedule the meeting with the deputy mayor as she was in no state of mind to talk job initiatives with him. Lena navigated directly for the cafeteria to wait all day for an explanation if necessary. Jess offered to accompany her, but Lena sent her assistant home early. She took a seat at a formica table beneath the fluorescent lights. She sipped on a coffee so foul she tossed the paper cup away and paid for a hot chocolate that turned out overly sweet. Lena was checking the clock on her phone for the fifteenth time when her potential soulmate sat down in the plastic chair across from her.

"Kara Danvers," she said extending a handshake.

"Lena," the CEO replied. "I’m actually not the actress you’re thinking of; I just look like her.”

“I’m so sorry. I must have sounded like such a dork! What’s your actual day job?”

“I’ve wondered if we’re long lost twins myself,” Lena said with a wave of her hand. “I work for a tech company. The allegation from my tattoo that I would go into acting has caused me a lot of grief, but I don’t know if I’m supposed to be angry at you for this case of mistaken identity, since I’m not sure you’re who I think you are. I can't wrap my head around someone not having the words across their chest. Can you show me?"

"Geez, buy a gal some dinner first," Kara said. Lena started rushing out an apology, but Kara flashed her a smile as she pulled up her Instagram on her phone. She showed Lena a photo of her at the beach wearing a bikini. The skin above her heart was free of ink or of any scarring that would indicate removal.

"How do you get by not knowing if you have a soulmate?" Lena asked. "Sorry, that was rude. I'm not usually this blunt; it feels like someone scooped out my brain and splattered it against a brick wall today."

Kara hummed before she responded, "You’re not the first person to ask me that question. When I became aware of how I stood out, I spent a few years thinking I would grow up to be this outcast who would never be able to understand everyone else’s experiences. Then my sister told me an analogy about how the ancient Greeks used different words to distinguish between all the forms of love. I may not get to share in the emotional high in that moment of soulmate recognition, but I still go out on dates, cook dinners with my family, have my friends over for game nights, and volunteer in my community without a soulmate in the picture. The skin on my chest being bare doesn't stop me from filling my heart with those closest to me."

Lena stared down at her fingers. "That’s a wonderful sentiment. My words pinned me down to a time and place I chafed against, so I did my best to run away from the meeting all the little girls are supposed to dream about. I guess I always thought my better half would eventually drop into my lap at some point in the future through no effort of my own. I kept myself busy with academics and then my career. Now I might actually be free from fate's control, and I'm not sure what I want. Do you think we're soulmates?"

"I think you’re cute, but we just met, so I don't know about soulmates," Kara replied. "I wouldn't focus too much on it. The real world isn't happily ever after once the prince kisses the princess. Soulmates face their own challenges and tragedies. You said you chose to focus on your career. I don't see why you couldn't keep pursuing what interests you if that’s what makes you happy. Get up in the morning like always and head into the office.”

Lena swallowed hard. "What if what I want is to buy you dinner? Preferably some place more romantic than a city hall cafeteria."

Kara scrunched up her face. "Are you asking because _you_ think we're soulmates? I'm pretty awesome, but I don't want to set your expectations too high for a first date."

"I’m only asking for one date, and we can go our separate ways if it doesn’t work out. You’ve given me some good perspective as I’ve been getting my crazy thoughts in order, and I thought you were cute too the moment I saw you step into the elevator. That sounds like good first date potential."

Kara twirled her ponytail with her fingers. "Let me go file my article at the office, and I’ll show you where to find the best pot stickers in the city."

Lena broke out into a full grin. Fate would save the revelation about pairing a Luthor and a Super together for another time.

**Author's Note:**

> The below article details why Katie McGrath's character should have been the key to everything in Jurassic World. The connection between Supergirl and that film has been rattling in my brain for years while I figured out what to do with it.  
> http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-jurassic-world-brutally-killed-its-biggest-hero/


End file.
